The vice-presidential debate between Democratic Sen. Tim Kaine and Republican Gov.
Mike Pence
brought in 37 million viewers, according to Nielsen, making it the least-watched vice-presidential debate since 29 million viewers watched Dick Cheney face off against Joe Lieberman in 2000.

NBC led the broadcasters with about 7 million viewers on Tuesday night, compared with about 6.5 million tuning in on
CBS,
6.15 million on ABC and 2.2 million on Fox. Among cable networks, Fox News won with about 6.1 million viewers, while CNN drew in 4.2 million and MSNBC generated 3.1 million viewers.

While the numbers were down from other vice-presidential debates in recent history, this election cycle has been a boon for TV networks’ ratings overall. After a closely watched primary season and highly rated conventions, the first of three duels between
Hillary Clinton
and
Donald Trump
broke the presidential debate viewership record when 84 million people tuned in last week.

The vice-presidential contest was thought to be less of a marquee political matchup.

It was certainly less anticipated than the debate between
Joe Biden
and
Sarah Palin
in 2008, which brought in 69.9 million people, making it the most viewed of any vice-presidential debate in history. Mr. Biden’s bout with Paul Ryan in 2012 drew 51.4 million viewers.

The Kaine-Pence showdown ranks as the eighth most-watched VP debate on record. The No. 7 debate was the 1976 matchup between Walter Mondale and Bob Dole, which drew 43.2 million viewers, according to Nielsen data.

Messrs. Kaine and Pence sparred in a combative debate covering topics ranging from Mr. Trump’s tax returns to Russia to immigration, as moderator Elaine Quijano of CBS News struggled at times to keep the pair from interrupting each other. Both candidates sought to defend their running mates, and afterward both campaigns attempted to claim victory.

Like the first presidential debate, viewers had plenty of options for how to watch the 90-minute, commercial-free event. Many broadcast and cable TV networks aired the debate. Viewers also could watch live streams on platforms like
Facebook,Twitter
and YouTube, though that viewership is not counted by traditional Nielsen ratings.

Vice-presidential debates rarely sway voters, but they still are huge live viewing events at a time when TV viewership has been challenged by streaming services and video-on-demand platforms. Networks are typically able to sell lucrative advertisement slots during pre- and post-debate coverage.

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